U2 – Dream It All Up Again (Godfather GR 394/395)

Disc 1 (73:39): Where The Streets Have No Name, I Will Follow, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, MLK, The Unforgettable Fire, God Part II, Desire / 1969, All Along The Watchtower / Like A Hurricane, Bad, Van Diemen’s Land, Bullet The Blue Sky / Whole Lotta Love, Running To Stand Still / Dirty Old Town, People Get Ready, Angel Of Harlem, When Love Comes To Town

Disc 2 (79:07): Love Rescue Me, Two Hearts Beat As One / Billy Jean, Pride (In The Name Of Love), 40. Point Depot, Dublin, Ireland – December 26th, 1989: Where The Steets Have No Name, Gloria, One Tree Hill. Point Depot, Dublin, Ireland – December 30, 1989: All I Want Is You / Sexual Healing / On The Road, Out Of Control, New Year’s Day, She’s A Mystery To Me, Love Rescue Me, 11 O’Clock Tick Tock, With Or Without You / Shine Like Stars / Love Will Tear Us Apart. Bonus track: I Believe In Father Christmas

Unofficial releases from an artist’s beginnings and endings are the most interesting to hear. It illuminates a band’s decision and U2 went through a major change in the beginning of the new decade. Through the eighties they established an aesthetic based upon a dramatic interpretation of new wave tinged with overtly political themes. It was by the time they hit the Lovetown tour that they decided a change in direction to their sound was necessary for the new decade.

The four shows in Dublin during the holiday season represent a swan song of sorts and, after four shows in Rotterdam in January, U2 would never be the same. This is the ending of the serious U2 focused upon political themes in their hometown to a global awareness and a deeper address to other forms of media manipulation.

Dream It All Up Againon Godfather is a two disc compendium of three of the Dublin shows. The second Dublin show on December 27th is presented in full, with three songs from the opening night on Boxing day and substantial section from the December 30th show. No material from the New Year’s Eve is presented since it is available as an iTunes download and its inclusion would be both redundant and make this a pirate release. All of the material are sourced from excellent sounding soundboard recordings in mind blowing stereo quality.

The December 27th show appeared previously on December XVII(CHAM 2-9200). Many fans single out this show to be one of their all time greatest gigs. Bono boasts about having “people here tonight from all over, we even got people from south Dublin. So what’s been happening here in Dublin? Yes the Pope’s been hanging out with Daniel Noriega.” The set closer is “Love Rescue Me,” and the first encore is “Two Hearts Beat As One.” This is the first time it had been played in over four years and remains it final live outing.

Three songs appear from the December 26th show. In the opening of “Where The Streets Have No Name” Bono reads verses from the poem “Resolution And Independence” by William Wordsworth as a tribute to the recently deceased Irish novelist Samuel Becket. The verse Bono sings at the end of “One Tree Hill” is improvised.

A generous portion of the December 30th show is included. The entire soundboard was released on At The Eleventh Hour (Silver Rarities SIRA 34/35). It is during this show when Bono delivers the now-famous ‘Dream it all up again’ speech during the beginning of “Love Rescue Me,” hinting at the band’s intent on changing its musical direction that later found its way onto Achtung Baby: “I was explaining to people the other night, but I might’ve got it a bit wrong – this is just the end of something for U2. And that’s why we’re playing these concerts — and we’re throwing a party for ourselves and you. It’s no big deal, it’s just — we have to go away and … and dream it all up again.” Also of note is that “She’s A Mystery To Me” is played live for the first time.

The bonus track is U2’s cover of Greg Lake’s “I Believe In Father Christmas.” This was recorded in 2008for Bono’s Product Red campaign to fight AIDS in Africa. It is a nice addition added since it keeps with the holiday theme. Godfather have been releasing a lot of great U2 titles of late including several shows from their current tour. Dream It All Up Again is a great way to revisit the late 80s U2 in excellent sound quality.

One comment

Thank you for your review. CHAM also released XMAS AT THE POINT DEPOT (CHAM 2-9100). Artwork and discs do not show the actual date, but this must be the first of four shows on Dec 26th. I will order this Godfatherecords release after reading your excellent review.
Marjorieboy